Ans. Contravention is a breach of the
provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 and
rules/ regulations/ notification/ orders/ directions/ circulars issued
there under. Compounding refers to the process of voluntarily admitting
the contravention, pleading guilty and seeking redressal. The Reserve
Bank is empowered to compound any contraventions as defined under
section 131 of FEMA, 1999 except the contravention under section 3(a)2
ibid, for a specified sum after offering an opportunity of personal
hearing to the contravener. It is a voluntary process in which an
individual or a corporate seeks compounding of an admitted
contravention. It provides comfort to any person who contravenes any
provisions of FEMA, 1999 [except section 3(a) of the Act] by minimizing
transaction costs. Willful, malafide and fraudulent transactions are, however, viewed seriously, which will not be compounded by the Reserve Bank.

Q.2. Who can apply for compounding?

Ans. Any person who contravenes any
provision of the FEMA, 1999 [except section 3(a)] or contravenes any
rule, regulation, notification, direction or order issued in exercise
of the powers under this Act or contravenes any condition subject to
which an authorization is issued by the Reserve Bank, can apply for
compounding to the Reserve Bank. Applications seeking compounding of
contraventions under section 3(a) of FEMA, 1999 may be submitted to the
Directorate of Enforcement.

Q.3 When should one apply for compounding?

Ans. When a person is made aware of the
contravention of the provisions of FEMA, 1999 by the Reserve Bank or
the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) or any other statutory
authority or the auditors or by any other means, she/he may apply for
compounding. One can also make an application for compounding, suo
moto, on becoming aware of the contravention.

Q.4. What is the procedure for applying for compounding?

Ans. The form given as Annex – I to the A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 56 dated June 28, 2010 issued by the Reserve Bank of India, can be used for applying for compounding. The same can also be
downloaded from the Reserve Bank.

Q.5. Are any fees required to be paid for seeking compounding?

Ans. Yes. The application in the
prescribed format along with necessary documents and a demand draft for
Rs. 5000/- (Rupees five thousand only) drawn in favour of the “Reserve
Bank of India” should be sent to the Reserve Bank of India while
sending the request for compounding.

Q.6. What are the details required to be filled in the application form?

Ans. Along with the application in the
prescribed format, the applicant may also furnish the details as per
the Annexes- relating to Foreign Direct Investment, External Commercial Borrowings, Overseas Direct Investment and Branch Office / Liaison Office, as
applicable, (attached to the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 57 dated
December 13, 2011) along with an undertaking that they are not under
investigation of any agency such as DOE, CBI, etc., a copy of the
Memorandum of Association and latest audited balance sheet while
applying for compounding of contraventions under FEMA, 1999.

Q.7. Where should one apply for compounding?

Ans. Regional Offices of the Reserve
Bank of India mentioned below are authorised to compound the
contraventions of FEMA involving (i) delay in reporting of inward
remittance, (ii) delay in filing of form FC-GPR after allotment of
shares and (iii) delay in issue of shares beyond 180 days (viz.
paragraphs 9(1)(A), 9(1)(B) and 8, respectively, of the Schedule I to
the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a
Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 and as amended from time to time:

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi for amount of contravention without any limit.

Accordingly, all applications for compounding whether received
on the advice of the Regional Office concerned or suo-moto, relating to
the contraventions mentioned at (a) and (b) above may be submitted by
the companies falling under the jurisdiction of the aforesaid Regional
Offices directly to the Regional Office concerned, together with the
prescribed fee and other relevant documents. All other applications may
be submitted to the Compounding Authority, Cell for Effective
implementation of FEMA (CEFA), Foreign Exchange Department, 5th floor,
Amar Building, Sir P.M.Road, Fort, Mumbai-400001. The prescribed fee of
Rs. 5000/- may be paid by way of a demand draft drawn in favour of
"Reserve Bank of India" and payable at the Regional Office where the
application is being submitted and at Mumbai if the application is
submitted at CEFA, Mumbai.

Q.8. Can an application for compounding be sent to the Reserve Bank pending fulfillment of certain obligations?

Ans. No. All requisite approvals
should be obtained and compliances should be completed before seeking
compounding of contravention. Compounding can be done only after
rectifying the records by way of obtaining post-facto approvals or
unwinding the transactions in cases where such transactions are not
permissible under FEMA, 1999. Copies of approvals and other compliances
should be enclosed along with the application.

Q.9. What action is taken by the Reserve Bank on receipt of the application?

Ans. The Reserve Bank makes a scrutiny
of the application to verify whether the required details and documents
furnished by the applicant are prima-facie in order. Applications with
incomplete details or where the contravention is not admitted will be
returned to the applicant. On the admission of applications, the
Reserve Bank will examine and decide if the contravention is technical,
material or sensitive in nature. If technical, the applicant will be
issued a cautionary advice. If the contravention is material, it will
be compounded by imposing a penalty after giving an opportunity to the
contravener to appear before the compounding authority for a personal
hearing. If the contravention is sensitive in nature requiring further
investigations, the same would be referred to the Directorate of
Enforcement (DoE) for further investigation/ action.

Q.11. Who should classify the contravention as technical, material or sensitive?

Ans. Whether contravention under the
Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is to be treated as technical
and/ or minor or serious would be decided by the Reserve Bank on the
merits of the case. The application will be disposed of keeping in view
the procedure notified in this regard. Persons who have contravened
the provisions of FEMA should not take upon themselves suo moto, or on
the basis of external advice to decide whether a particular
contravention is technical or minor in nature and, hence, no
compounding application need be submitted to the Reserve Bank. If such
applications for compounding are not made, the person concerned shall
expose himself/herself to such action under the provisions of FEMA as
the authorities may deem appropriate. The persons concerned should,
therefore, in their own interest submit their applications for
compounding of contravention under FEMA to the Reserve Bank at the
earliest opportunity.

Q. 12. Is it mandatory to appear for the personal hearing?

Ans. It is not mandatory to attend the
personal hearingIn case a person opts not to attend the personal
hearing he may indicate his preference in writing. The application
would be disposed of on the basis of documents submitted to the
Compounding Authority.

Q.13. Can the applicant authorise another person to attend the personal hearing?

Ans. Yes, another person may be
authorised by the applicant to attend the personal hearing on his
behalf but only with proper written authority. It has to be ensured
that the person appearing on behalf of the applicant is conversant with
the nature of contravention and the related matters.

Q.14. How is the compounding process brought to the conclusion?

Ans. The Compounding Authority passes
an order indicating details of the contravention and the provisions of
FEMA, 1999 that have been contravened. The sum payable for compounding
the contravention is indicated in the compounding order. The
contravention is compounded by payment of the penalty imposed.

Q.15. When should the amount indicated in the order be paid?

Ans. The amount should be paid within
15 days from the date of the order by way of a demand draft drawn on
"Reserve Bank of India" and payable at the Regional office which has
issued the compounding order and at Mumbai if the order is issued by
CEFA, Mumbai.

Q. 16. How does the application for compounding finally get disposed of?

Ans. On realization of the sum for
which contravention is compounded, a certificate shall be issued by the
Reserve Bank indicating that the applicant has complied with the order
passed by the Compounding Authority.

There cannot be a second adjudication by any authority on the
contravention compounded. In terms of FEMA, 1999, where a contravention
has been compounded, no proceeding or further proceeding, as the case
may be, can be initiated or continued, as the case may be, against the
person committing such contravention under that section, in respect of
the contravention compounded.

Q.17. What happens if the amount is not paid within 15 days of the order?

Ans. In case of non-payment of the
amount indicated in the compounding order within 15 days of the order,
it will be treated as if the applicant has not made any compounding
application to the Reserve Bank and the other provisions of FEMA, 1999
regarding contraventions will apply. Such cases will be referred to the
Directorate of Enforcement for necessary action.

Q.18. Can there be an appeal against the order of the Compounding Authority?

Ans. As compounding is based on
voluntary admissions and disclosures, there cannot be an appeal against
the order of the Compounding Authority.

Q.19. What is the timeframe for completing the compounding process?

Ans. The compounding process is
normally completed within 180 days from the date of receipt of the
application complete in all aspects, by the Reserve Bank.

Q.20. Where can one get more details about compounding?

Ans.. One can visit to Master circular on compounding available on Reserve Bank’s website.

1 Section 13
- Penalties.-(1) If any person contravenes any provision of this Act,
or contravenes any rule, regulation, notification, direction or order
issued in exercise of the powers under this Act, or contravenes any
condition subject to which an authorization s issued by the Reserve
Bank, he shall, upon adjudication, be liable to a penalty up to thrice
the sum involved in such contravention where such amount is
quantifiable, or up to two lakh rupees where the amount is not
quantifiable, and where such contrav ntion is a continying one, further
penalty which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day after
the first day during which the contravention continues.

(2) Any Adjudicating Authority adjudging any
contravention under sub-section (1), may, if he thinks fit in addition
to any penalty which he may impose for such contravention direct that
any currency, security or any other money or property in respect of
which the contravention has taken place shall be confiscated to the
Central Government and further direct that the foreign exchange
holdings, if any, of the persons committing the contraventions or any
part thereof, shall be brought back into India or shall be retained
outside India in accordance with the directions made in this behalf.

Explanation.- For the purposes of this
sub-section, "property" in respect of which contravention has taken
place, shall include-

(a) deposits in a bank, where the said property is converted into such deposits;

(b) Indian currency, where the said property is converted into that currency; and(c) any other property which has resulted out of the conversion of that property.

2 Section
3 - Dealing in foreign exchange, etc.- Save as otherwise provided in
this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder, or with the general or
special permission of the Reserve Bank, no person shall- (a) deal in or
transfer any foreign exchange or foreign security to any person not
being an authorized person;